i love you already
by cornelia marie hale
Summary: Wanda and Ian take their relationship to the next level.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Chapter 1

I'm going to do it. I mean it this time.

It's been in my mind since I was put into Pet's body. Now, I'm free to do it. I couldn't have done it in Melanie's body; it wouldn't have been fair to her. Now, I have a body that is mine, and only mine….and now, I want to give it to Ian. Completely. Ian loves me, and I love him; now I want to prove it. Physically.

My heart is beating out of my chest. Everyone else in the caves is already in bed as Ian and I walk hand in hand to our room. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Ian smiling at me. He's seeing me blush.

"What's wrong, Wanda?"

"What? Uh…nothing." Which is a lie, and he knows it.

I pause when we reach the two doors propped up against the opening to our room.

"Ian?"

He turns those stunning blue eyes to me, knocking me breathless.

"I love you.."

"I love you, too." he cocks an eyebrow, confused.

I take a deep breath and lead him in the room by the hand. Here we go. I turn around to kiss him, putting my hands on his chest. He seems surprised, but please and he kisses me back heavily. I nudge his lips open with my tongue. His meets mine eagerly as his hand creeps around to the small of my back.  
>When we come up for air, I step back from him, keeping his hand.<p>

"Ian," I whisper.

My blush returns, and my eyes cast downward. God, this is embarrassing.

"I was wondering if we could try something new tonight?" I say so quietly it's a wonder he heard me. But he did.

He comes closer to me. Ian pulls my chin up with his finger to meet his eyes. His face is gentle, his intimate gaze makes my knees weak. "What?" he whispers back. Instead I of answering, I kiss him again. Hotter, heavier this time. My hands pull off his gray T-shirt and trace the contours of his chest and stomach. He seems to understand now, because his strong hands go to my back to pull my shirt over my head. Ian's lips find my neck and work their way down to my breasts, making my head tilt back and a moan escapes my lips. Ian must have liked my moans, because he growls in return. His kisses move from my breasts as his kneels down in front of me, kissing my stomach as he fumbles with the snap on my jeans. My fingers wind their way through his thick black hair and I moan again. My jeans fall to my ankles, and Ian stands, kissing my lips again. After I unbutton his pants, he unhooks my bra and leads me to the bed. I push him down to the mattress and lay on top of him, grinding my hips against his hardness.

"Oh, Wanda," he groans. "Wanda,"

My hands move down his chest to his stomach 'til they find the waistband of his boxers. I pull them off and toss them to the corner of the room. I lay back down on top of him, biting his lips as I kiss him. I reach my hand down to run my fingers through the curly brown swirls below his waist. He catches my hand and rolls me over onto my back. Ian leans up to pull my panties down. Now completely naked, he nudges my legs apart and settles between them. He kisses my lips, his tongue dances with mine, his hands explore my waist, my hips, my thighs, and rests them between my legs. Ian slides his fingers into me. I moan Ian's name loudly, and he cuts me off with a kiss. He slides his fingers in and out of me, leaving me breathless. Just when I think I can take it no longer, he pulls his fingers out of me. Ian pulls his lips away from mine and cups my cheek; we are both panting, looking each other in the eyes. His sapphire eyes, darkened with desire, are gentle and warm.

"You're sure about this?" he gasps. "Really sure? I don't want to force you to do anything you don't want to do."

"Ian," I pant, "I'm in love with you, and I want to make love to you tonight."

Ian cracks a smile and laughs, and kisses me deeply. "You'll tell me if I'm hurting you, won't you? I'll stop if I'm hurting you."

I smile at his concern and kiss him lightly on the lips. "Always the gentleman." I kiss him again. "I'll be fine, baby. I promise."

All of a sudden, he looks nervous. "Are you ready?" I kiss his forehead, "More than ready," I whisper. Ian takes a deep breath and reaches down to guide himself into me. I take in a sharp breath and grunt once, biting my lip. I knew it would hurt, but ow!

"Wanda? Are you alright?" the worry is thick in his voice.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just keep going." I give him a kiss to reassure him. He rests his hand on my neck and parts my lips with his tongue as he thrusts his hips against mine.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

I wake up the next morning with Ian's arms around me. I turn up my face to kiss him, waking him up. "Morning stranger." I smile and kiss his lips in return.

"I never want to get up." I sigh happily.

Ian chuckles. "Yeah, I know what you mean. Want to sip breakfast for a repeat performance?" He smiles mischievously.

"I'd love to, but I'm starving."

"Okay." Ian takes my hand and pulls me off the bed. As we dress, Ian hooks my bra for me as I brush my hair. We hold hands as we walk to the kitchen.

"Hey guys!" Jamie smiles as we walk into the kitchen. "Go get some oatmeal before it gets too cold." He points to the makeshift oven with his spoon. I go to the oven and fill up two bowls for Ian and myself. Ian finishes his quickly.

"I'm working in the field today. Jeb says the corn needs irrigating." He says almost apologetically.

"Oh, I'm doing laundry with Paige and Lily. I'll come down later and bring you some lunch, okay?"

"Sounds great, Wanda." I give him a quick kiss and whisper in his ear.

"You. Me. Bath pool. Tonight."

He pulls back at beams at me, and kisses me full on the mouth.

Later that night, I'm walking alone to the River room. I heard footsteps coming towards me from the opposite direction. "Ian?" I call. That's weird, he was supposed to meet me there. "No. Jamie." I hear my brother's voice.

"Wanda? What are you doing?"

"Just going to take a bath before bed. What were you doing?"

"Just taking a walk. I'll walk down there with you."

Uh oh. "No, that's okay. You have school tomorrow, and you know how Sharon gets when you oversleep. Go on to bed Jamie." I hope that'll throw him off.

"Ugh! Okay. 'Night Wanda, love you."

"Love you too Jamie, good night." Whew.

"Ian?" I call out into the darkness of the River room.

"Over here, Wanda." I hear from towards the bath pool. "Hey, sweetheart." I can hear the smile in his voice. Out of nowhere, three blue lights are turned on one by one by the bath pool. My Ian standing by the edge of the pool, my heart skips a beat.

"Hey." I walk over to him and he takes me into his arms and kisses me on my head. "I've been waiting for this all day."

"Me too, sweetheart, me too." he says against my hair. Just like last night, we undress each other, with kisses in between each article of discarded clothing. When we were both naked, Ian steps into the pool, then helps me in, holding my hand. We lower ourselves into the cool water and pull each other close. After a lot of kissing and touching, Ian is hard, and I am wet and ready. Ian sits down on the underwater ledge and I climb onto his lap and mount him. Since the River room is far away from the living spaces, we allow each other to be as loud as we want. Ian moans "Wanda! Wanda!" as I bounce up and down. I feel him shudder and pulsate inside me as he climaxes. I lean forward to rest my forehead against his. We start to laugh and he hugs me tightly. He stands and lifts me onto his hardness for a second round.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Two months of bliss have gone by since Ian and I first made love. We've made love every night since then, and every time it only gets better. When I'm with Ian, I can't imagine ever being happier.

"So I'll see you tonight?" I ask as we stand embraced in front of our room.

"Hell yes." He parts my lips with his tongue and cups my breast. His touch left a trail of fire on my skin.

"Hey guys! Oh...I'm sorry, I'll just….be going." Melanie came strolling down the hall, interrupting our kiss.

"Hey Melanie."

"Bye Melanie."

"Ian!" I smack him playfully on the chest. "No need to be so rude."

"Sorry, love." he says, and kisses me lightly. "I'll leave you girls to it, then." Ian walks down the cave in the opposite direction.

"You're sleeping together, aren't you?" Melanie blurts.

"Mel!"

"Oh. My. God. You are!"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Oh, please God, please let us not be having this conversation.

"Wanda, I want you to know that I consider you my sister. And sisters tell each other things, don't they?"

"Yes, I suppose they do." She already knows. I might as well tell her. "Ian and I have sex." I'm waiting for her reaction. I feel the blood start to run to my face. I can't look at Mel, so I look at our feet. I hear Mel squeal, and next thing I know, she's got me in a great big bear hug.

"Oh my God! When did this happen?" She's smiling? I thought she'd be mad?

"Uh…I don't know. About two and a half months ago, I think."

"And…?" Melanie prompts.

"And what?" Uh oh, where is she going with this?

"How was it! Come on, you can tell me! Oh, stop blushing, Wanda, it's okay. Nothing to be embarrassed about." Ah, Mel. She knows me too well.

"It was amazing. Think of the times when Jared kissed us, then multiply it by ten." It's true, Jared is nothing compared to Ian, though I doubt Melanie would feel the same.

"Wow. Huh, Ian O'Shea a good lover. Who'd have thought?" She jokes and punches me playfully on the arm.

"He is. He's very gentle, despite all of those muscles of his." He always touches me like I'm made of glass.

"How many times have you done it?"

"Every night since the first night. Why?" Why?

"Do you use protection?" She seems concerned.

"No." Why is she looking at me like that? She looks worried.

"Wanda. What if you get pregnant?"  
>This stops me dead in my tracks. Pregnant? I never even thought of the possibility. I don't even know how this works, I mean, I know that sex makes babies, but I don't know the mechanics of it, the symptoms anything!<p>

"Melanie! Oh my God! How do we find out?" Oh no, what will Ian say? No, I won't tell him until I know for sure. But how will I know for sure?

"Okay, okay! Calm down. Shhh. Calm down. Come into my room and we'll talk." Melanie grabs my now shaking hand and pulls me into hers and Jared's room. She sets me down on the mattress in the corner.

"I don't know what the symptoms are Mel! How will I know? What will I tell Ian!"

"Shhh. Shhh. It's okay, I know a thing or two." Melanie sits down on the bed beside me. "Have you been feeling nauseous?"

"I've felt dizzy sometimes, but I thought it was just from working in the heat." A month ago, I was helping to plant the corn seeds, and I felt so dizzy I had to sit down. I never told Ian about it.

"Okay, it might not mean anything." I could see her wracking her brain. "When was your last period?"

I can't remember. I'd never kept close track of these things. All I know is they hurt, and they only last about 5 days. I've been so happy and focused on Ian these past few months I haven't noticed any difference. "Mel, I don't know! I've been so preoccupied with Ian I haven't noticed!"

"Let's go see Doc." She bites her lip, oh no. She thinks I'm pregnant. She holds my hand and takes me to Doc.

"Wanda?" Doc runs over to me when we come into the hospital wing. "Is she okay? What happened?" I guess I look about as good as I feel: horrible. Mel and Doc lead me to a cot and sit me down

"Melanie, what happened?" Doc demanded.

"How do I know if I'm pregnant?" my question caught him off guard, I could see it in his face.

"Oh, I…uhm. Melanie, mind giving us some privacy?"

"Yeah, sure Doc." Melanie gives my hand a squeeze before she leaves.

"Okay, so… Have you been urinating more than usual?" Doc and I are good friends, this shouldn't be this awkward.

"Now that you mention it, yes." Another thing I haven't noticed. You'd think I was in a coma instead of just in love.

"Have you been feeling sick? Nausea, dizziness, vomiting? Anything?"

"Dizziness." This isn't sounding good.

"When was your last menstrual cycle?" I wasn't looking forward to this question. It's embarrassing. How can I not realize I wasn't getting my period?

"I think it was 2 or three months ago."

"Oh, Wanda." Doc had sympathy written all over his face. "Okay. When was the last time you had sexual intercourse?"

I can tell Doc isn't enjoying this conversation either. Everyone's so used to me being little innocent Wanda. No one wants to think of little innocent Wanda having sex. My blush comes back and I stare at the floor. "Last night."

"Did you use protection?" I shake my head. I can't look at him.

"Was last night the first time you've been unprotected?" I shake my head again.

"You never have?" Another shake.

Doc takes a deep breath. "Okay, lay down on the cot, please Wanda. I want to feel your stomach." Doc stands from his chair and sits next to me on the cot. He leans down and whispers, "It's Ian's, isn't it?"  
>I nod. Doc nods also. "I'm just going to lift your shirt up, okay?" He lifts up my shirt to just below my bra and starts prodding my stomach. "Wanda, I want you to tell me if anywhere hurts or feels tender, okay? I watch him poking around my stomach, when I feel a tender spot right above my hips.<p>

"Right here, Doc." I point to the spot above my hips.

"Here?" he starts poking it some more.

I wince, "yeah, right there."

"Your stomach is hard." he said, almost to himself. Doc pulls my shirt down for me and helps me up. Doc takes my hand in his, I know what he's going to say before he says it. "Wanda, I think you're pregnant. I can't be positive, of course, we have no tests. But with all the things you've told me, it sounds like you're going to have a baby. Jared's planning a raid soon, and while you're out, I want you to get at least three pregnancy tests, okay?"

"Why three?"

"It's just a precaution. There's always a chance one test could be false, so it's better to be safe than sorry."

"Should I tell Ian just yet? I don't want to get him upset unless we're pretty sure." Ian. What will he say?

"You can go ahead and tell him. I'm pretty sure. Look, you've even got a little baby bump." Doc points to my stomach, and my hand flies there automatically. Sure enough, there's a tiny bulge that wasn't there a week ago. This is the start of our baby. I feel it now, I feel another presence inside of me. How could I not have noticed before? The feeling is so strong. I look down at the hand on my belly and smile. I'm having a baby. Ian's baby.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

That night in bed, Ian is kissing me softly. When his hand goes to reach up my shirt, I sit up.

"Ian. Don't be mad at me." I'm scared. I know Ian loves me, and I know how kind and gentle he is, and what a good person he is, but this could be too much for him.

"Why would I be mad? If you don't want to make love tonight, it's okay, I understand." He sits up next to me, kissing my shoulder.

"I'm pregnant."

Silence.

I peek over to see his face, he looks worried. "Are you sure?" He doesn't sound mad, that's good.

I went to see Doc today, and he said he's pretty sure, but he can't be positive. But I'm positive. We're having a baby." I give him a weak smile. I couldn't be happier about this baby, but I'm scared that he won't be.

"What are you thinking?"

"I want to know how you feel about this. I'm ecstatic. This is amazing news, but I want to know how you feel."

I breath a sigh of relief. He's happy! He wants this baby! "I'm so happy, Ian. Really. I'm so excited. I'm terrified, but I'm excited." I start to laugh. I can't believe I was so worried! He smiles and starts to laugh too. A tear comes to my eye, this is great. The man I love is happy about the baby I'm carrying for him. We lie back down and Ian kisses me on the head, and puts his hand on my stomach. I turn my face up for a kiss, and Ian's lips meet mine.

"Oh, and Doc wants to see both of us tomorrow. Do you think you can get out of chores for a little while?"

"Anything for you."

"Judging by how big she is," Doc says as he wraps a tape measure around my midsection. "and what she told me yesterday, she's about a month or two along."

I sit on a cot in the hospital wing with Ian by my side and Doc kneeling in front of me. Ian clears his throat." Uhm, Doc? We've had sex in the last month or two."

I'm appalled! "Ian!"

Doc takes one look at me. "Obviously." That's even worse! I feel my face getting hotter as my blush returns.

"No, what I mean is, we've had sex since she's been pregnant. I wouldn't have hurt them, would I?" Seeing him that concerned about our baby melts my heart. I reach over and take his hand in mine.

Doc lets out a laugh and runs his fingers through his hair. "Oh. No, they'll be fine. And it's safe for you to continue having intercourse throughout her pregnancy." I was curious about that, but I really don't want to be having this conversation. My gaze drops to the floor.

Doc places his warm hand on my knee. "Don't be embarrassed, Wanda! It's okay, really. Trust me, I've heard worse." I peek up and see Doc's eyes full of compassion. I nod, feeling better. "So, at about two months, you're almost through your first trimester. You could still experience morning sickness. Dizziness, nausea, vomiting. That's all normal, and it could last until the middle of your second trimester. Do you have any questions for me?"

"No, I think we're okay for now."

"Okay see you guys later then." Doc smiles and leaves the hospital wing.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"Alright, so these things are easy enough to take." Doc explained. He opened the pregnancy test boxes I got on the raid last week. "You just take this cap off, and pee on it. And in about…" he checks the back of the box. "Four minutes, we'll know for sure. Ian and I will just wait out here."

"Thanks for coming to help me Melanie. I know this isn't going to be pleasant."

"Oh, hell. What are sisters for?" we laugh and she puts her arm around me. "Positive, positive, and positive." Doc read off the results of the tests. "Congratulations Wanda and Ian. You're having a baby." Mel and I squeal in excitement. I jump into Ian's arms, wrap my legs around his waist and kiss him full on the mouth. He puts me down to shake Doc's hand. Mel squeals again and wraps me in a hug, jumping up and down.

"I'm going to be aunt!" Mel shrieks. We both have tears in our eyes. I break away from Melanie to hug Doc, then return to Ian, who is smiling ear to ear. He picks me up and twirls me around. I'm so happy that he's happy. This baby is going to be so loved.

Jamie's reaction was similar to Melanie's. "No way! Wanda that's great! Wow, I'm going to be an uncle! Uncle Jamie, I like it!" Jamie wrapped me in a tight bear hug. "When does my new niece or nephew get her?" My brother's eyes are gleaming with excitement. This makes me giggle, he looks so cute.

"Seven months." I smile at him.

"Aw, man. That's a long time."

I kiss his hair. "Don't worry, Jamie. It'll fly by." When you say it like that, seven months doesn't seem long at all.

"Ugh, I feel like a whale!" At five months pregnant, I've blown up like a balloon. All I can see of my feet is the tips of my toes. Thankfully, I haven't gotten any stretch marks.

"You're beautiful, sweetheart." Ian puts his hand on my belly and kisses my forehead. "You're perfect." His compliments leave my face scarlet.

"So what's on the agenda for you today?" I say, changing the subject.

"Jeb wants me, Jared, and Kyle to dig out some more living quarters. What are you doing today?"

I take Ian's hand in mine. "Cleaning mirrors, then Doc wants to see me."

"Oh? Do I need to be there?"

"No, no. Just a check up. You just don't hurt yourself, okay?"

"Sure thing, baby." Another kiss and another pat on the belly, and Ian goes off, to dig through the purple brown rock of the caves. I walk in the opposite direction to the corn field. I see Melanie, Jeb, Paige, and Trudy already there.

"Hey Wanda."

"Hi guys." They toss me a rag, and I start polishing the mirrors that I can reach. The sun made the field hot quickly, and after 20 minutes, my back starts to ache.

"You alright there, Wanda?" Jeb walks over to where I'm standing in the corner. "You need to go see Doc?"

"No, I'm fine, Jeb, thanks." I stretch out my back and get back to work.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

"How have you been feeling?" Doc asks as he measures my stomach with his tape measure.

"Crappy. I'm as big as a house, my back hurts, my ankles are swollen, I'm irritable." That's an understatement. I can't believe Ian still wants to live with me.

Doc only laughs. " That's all normal." He looks at the numbers on his tape measure. "What's your diet been like?"

"Normal, why?"

"You're a little bigger than usual at five months. Could be a big baby." Oh. Probably mean it's healthy. I rest my hand on my hard stomach.

"This trimester you'll expect to feel tired and achy. And you should start to feel the baby move and kick." I wrap my arms around my belly and smile.

Two nights later, I'm laying in bed with Ian, watching him sleep. He must be have a good dream. Every once in a while, his lips twitch up into a smile. I curl into his side, which is getting harder with the growing baby inside me. Out of nowhere, I feel a squirming motion inside me. Then a kick. A kick. "Ian!" I shake Ian awake. "Ian wake up!" He opens his eyes groggily.

"Wanda? What's wrong?" he sits straight up, instantly awake.

"Quick! Give me your hand." I grab his hand and place it on top of my belly, where I felt our baby kick. I put my small hand over his and push down lightly. Our baby kicks again, right under his hand.

"There! Did you feel it?" Ian's eyes go wide. He felt it.

"I felt it! Wanda! Wow, that was amazing." Ian's sapphire eyes were glittering, his grin ear to ear. He's still smiling as he presses his lips to mine. He lays back down onto the mattress and gathers me into his arms.

The next morning, I woke up to find drops of blood in my underwear. I gasped loudly. "Ian!" No! This can't be happening. My baby! "Ian! Something's wrong!" Ian jumped up out of bed and quickly came to my side. "Ian, I'm bleeding!" Tears start streaming down my face. What if something's wrong with the baby?

I can tell Ian is panicking, but he's hiding it for my benefit. "You're going to see Doc." Ian bends down and sweeps me off my feet.

"Ian, put me down. You can't carry me all the way to the hospital wing." I complain. I know Ian is strong, but I'm heavy now, he'll hurt himself.

"Don't be ridiculous, Wanda. Even six months pregnant, you're still not that heavy. We're not discussing this." Something in his voice told me he meant business. Ian tried to move as fast as he could without jostling me, and we made it to the hospital wing in less than ten minutes.

"Doc!" Ian alerted Doc of our presence. "Wanda started bleeding." Ian walks over to a cot and lays me down gently.

"A little bit of spotting is normal, Wanda, but I'd like to take a look, okay?" Doc doesn't look concerned. That has to be a good sign, right? "I need you to take your shorts off. Ian, would you help her?" Doc gets up to get a blanket and he covers my waist to my thighs. I unsnap my shorts and Ian pulls down my shorts and underwear. "Wanda, I need you to pull up your knees and spread them. A little bit more, that's it. Thank you." Blood rises to my cheeks. Ian sees this and takes my hand and kneels down by my head. His hand comes up and strokes my forehead. Doc looks between my legs with a flashlight. "Nothing looks wrong here, that's good. You can put your legs down now, Wanda." I sigh in relief that this part is over. I know it's necessary, and I guess I'd better get used to Doc looking at me.

"How much blood did you see in your underwear?"

I didn't really take time to look at it all. I just seen a little bit of blood and woke Ian up. Ian picks up the shorts that he laid in the floor and looks at the soiled panties.

"Two spots, about quarter sized."

Doc sits on the cot next the where I lay. He puts his hand over mine. "You're fine Wanda. Spotting during pregnancy is perfectly normal." He smiles warmly at me.

"The baby is fine, too?"

"Perfectly fine."

I rest my head back onto the pillow and close my eyes. My baby is fine, perfectly fine. I rest the hand not holding Ian's on my belly. Perfectly fine. "You can get dressed now, Wanda." Doc gets up from the cot and faces the wall, giving me some privacy. "Oh, I forgot to tell you. Your baby can hear now. If you talk to it, it'll hear you. You two can talk to it to get it used to your voices."

"Wow, really?" Ian asks as he helps me back into my shorts. He grabs both my hands and pulls me into the sitting position.

"Mhm. Amazing isn't it?


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"Hi, Baby." I say to my belly. Ian lies in bed beside me, smiling contentedly. "I can't wait to meet you." In just a few months time, I'll be holding our baby in my arms, talking to it in person. I hope it has Ian's deep blue eyes, instead of my gray ones. I could look into those sapphires forever. "You're turn, Ian." He smirks and scoots down the bed, so he's face to face with my belly. He tugs my shirt up over my swollen belly and lays one warm hand over it.

"Hey, Baby." He pauses and wets his lips with his tongue. "I can't wait for you to get here. To hold you. I may not be the greatest dad in the world, but I'm going to do my best. And I want you to know that I love you already." He lowers his head and plants a gentle kiss on my stomach, and rests his head there for a moment. I tear rolls down my cheek, I wind my fingers through Ian's hair, and smile down at my family in the making. My partner and our child, waiting to arrive.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

For eight and a half months, our baby has been growing inside me. Now I can't see my feet at all, and my ankles are so swollen I can't stand for very long. With Ian holding my hand, and his supporting hand on the small of my back, I waddle down to the hospital wing. Both Ian and Doc help me down onto the cot. For the past month or so, I have trouble sitting down, getting up, walking, everything. I'm just about useless now. Doc takes out his stethoscope and exposes my stomach. "I'm going to see if I can hear the baby's heartbeat. I'm not sure if it'll work though. The stethoscope might not be sensitive enough to pick it up." Doc puts the ear buds in his ears and presses the end piece on my stomach, first in the middle, then moves to my left side. Doc's eyebrows furrow, and he moves the end piece to the right side of my stomach, then back to the left.

"What's wrong?"

Silence. He moves the end piece to my right side again, and then to the center again.

"Doc!" My tone grabs his attention. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong… it's just.." he pauses, eyebrows furrowing again. "I hear two heartbeats."

At first I don't understand…and then… "Two? As in.."

"Twins. Wanda, you're having twins."

I'm overjoyed. Happy tears fall from my eyes. Ian's smile is radiant. He laughs and leans his forehead against mine, kissing my nose.

"Are you sure, Doc?"

"I'm positive. I hear one heartbeat over here," he point to the left. "And one here." He points to the right. "I know I'm not hearing the same heartbeat, because both of them are so quiet. I can only hear them in those two spots."

Ian and I are in our own little world. Both our joy has just been doubled.

With my due date approaching, the need for supplies grows. Since I'm so close to delivery, I can't go on the raid Jared is planning. Instead, he's taking Sunny. Mostly everyone agreed that she's been with us long enough for us to trust her, and since I'm out for the count we really have no choice. I write up a list of things I need for the babies. Just the bare essentials. A few Onesies, some cloth to make diapers out of, safety pins, towels and blankets. I give Kyle the note to give to Sunny, since I he's the one I find first, and just the short walk from our room to Kyle tired me out. Then I go back to our room to lay down. This is getting ridiculous, how tired I am. Though Ian, Mel, Jared, Jamie, Doc, practically everyone says that I'm entitled to a little extra rest, I still feel useless.  
>I wake to the sound of a soft knocking on the door propped up against our cave. "Wanda? It's Doc, could I come in? "<p>

"Sure. Hey, Doc."

"There are a few things I'd like to discuss with you. I already talked to Ian this morning." He sits on the edge of my mattress,

"What'd you want to discuss?"

"Since your having twins, I'm going to be very busy, so I wanted to know if you wouldn't mind me having some helpers in the room when you deliver.

"It's okay with me. Who'd you have in mind? And what did Ian have to say?"

"I was thinking Melanie and Jamie. Ian said he didn't mind, he said he thought you might even be more comfortable if your brother and sister were there." I don't mind at all. I'd love it if they were there to share mine and Ian's happy moment.

"That's fine, Doc, but don't you think it'll, you know…scar Jamie for life?"

Doc laughs at me. "Wanda, Jamie loves you, and he wants to be there for you."

"You already talked to them?" Wow, am I the last one he talked to?

"Yeah, sorry. They were right there, though." Apparently.

"Okay. And you're sure Ian is fine with it?" I don't want him to be upset when our babies are born.

"Yeah. He actually thought it was a great idea, too." Doc smiles reassuringly.

"Alright. How long do you think it'll be now? I'm so ready to have these babies. I'm hot, I'm tired, my back and feet hurt. I'm ready for this to be over now.

"Well, you're officially full term, so it could be any day now."

Great. The sooner, the better.

A week later, the raiders returned. Sunny came straight to me with a back as soon as she got back to the caves. Melanie came over to my room to see what Sunny bought. She'd gotten way more than I asked for. "I got mutual colors, since we don't know what the babies are." She pulls out at least ten different outfits in every color imaginable, except pink and blue, of course. She's got 6 Onesies in green, yellow, and purple, and adorable little booties to match. "Aww!" Melanie squeals when she sees the booties. "Look at how tiny they are!" She wasn't kidding. It's hard to believe that their feet will be that small. Sunny also bough several yards of thick fabric in several dark colors to make little cloth diapers out of.

"Sunny, you went above and beyond." I smile at her, "you know they won't need this much."

"I know. But just look at these clothes! I just had to get them!"


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Two weeks later, Ian and I are fast asleep, when I feel a strange movement in my belly. It doesn't feel like a kick, but I dismiss it and go back to sleep. Two hours later, the strange movement starts to turn uncomfortable. I shrug Ian's arm off me. I get up and walk around the room, maybe it'll make me feel better. After five minutes, I think the walking worked. The feeling is gone. I think I might be able to sleep now, so I walk back to the bed until…I feel a wetness gushing down my legs. Uh oh. My water broke. Finally! I don't think I'll wake Ian up yet. I don't think anything will happen before morning. He'll just panic. I change my wet shorts and lay them out to dry. Once I'm cleaned up, I crawl back into bed and cuddle against Ian's side.

I didn't sleep well at all. By the time Ian wakes up, my contractions were getting close together and getting painful. Ian's eyes blink open, and he smiles. " 'Morning, sunshine."

"Ian, go get Doc." I say through clenched teeth, a contraction wracking my body.

His brows knit together, "why?"

"My water broke last night." A look something like shock spreads onto his face.

"What? Why didn't you wake me up!" He's already up out of bed, pulling on his shirt.

I exhale, the contraction finally over. My body relaxes. "Because you would have freaked out, and woken Doc up, and I wanted you two to get rest. Nothing major was happening. Now would you please go get Doc?" Ian, looking hurt and a little angry, leaves. Great, now I've hurt him. He'll get over it, I've got other things to worry about. My body tenses as another contraction comes on.

Ian comes back 20 minutes later with Doc following behind. Ian is still obviously irritated, though I can tell he's trying to hide it. "How're you feeling Wanda?" Doc's gentle voice comes from the doorway. He sets down his leather bag and kneels down beside me.

"It hurts." My body goes rigid.

"I know. Ready for some No Pain?" Doc takes a tiny glass bottle from his bag.

"No." I say firmly. I can do this.

"What? Why?" Ian voice demands from the corner. Doc's face resembles Ian's.

Ugh, men. "Because," I sigh, I shouldn't have to explain myself. "My body is built for this, and I want to do it naturally."

Doc nods, "I can understand that."

"Oh, Wanda." Ian kneels down beside my head. "Why do you have to be so difficult?" He leans down to kiss my forehead. He's worried now. I cup his cheek with my hand and pull him down for a kiss. As we kiss, another contraction comes. I break our kiss and take a handful of Ian shirt in my fist. "Doc?"  
>"Okay, okay." Doc moves himself onto the mattress by my knees. The contraction ends and I release Ian from my grasp, panting. "Wanda, I'm going to check your cervix now, okay? Do you know what that means?" I nod. I also know what this means he has to do. I'm not looking forward to this. My face turns scarlet. "I know this isn't pleasant Wanda, I'm sorry." His voice did sound genuinely sorry. He can't be enjoying this either, but Doc is professional, and doesn't let it show. Ian grabs one of the towels Doc brought and covers me up, the pulls my shorts and underwear down. He comes back to me and takes my hand, his eyes full of sympathy. "Could you lift and separate your legs please? Thank you. Just relax your pelvis…" I lock eyes with Ian, and pretend we're somewhere else. I then feel one of Doc's long fingers enter my body, stopping when they reach my cervix. After only a few seconds, he removes his hand, and I close my legs. Doc clears his throat. "You're dilated about 3 centimeters. That's good, you're almost halfway there. How long have you been in labor?"<p>

"I don't know, it started late last night. Six hours, maybe?"

"Okay, you still have a few hours to go. You should have got me sooner." Ian glances down and gives me an I-told-you-so look. "I'll be back to check on you in an hour or so, and I'll leave the No Pain here in case you want it." Doc stands and turns to leave. "You can walk around a bit, that might help speed things up, and I want you to use the bathroom a few times, as well. You shouldn't eat, but you can drink a little. No more than one bottle." I nod in agreement. "See you in an hour. Try to rest, Wanda." He says as he walks out of the room and sets the door back in it's place. Ian crawls into bed besides me and cradles me to his chest, and we settle in for the long labor ahead of us.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 11

My heart is beating out of my chest, sweat glistens my body. Ian pushes the hair from my forehead as I nervously watch Doc rummage through his bag. I watch him pull out bottles of Heal, Inside and Out, No Pain, Clean, Heal, Seal and scissors. He lays each of them on a towel by my legs. Then I see a battered white bucket in the corner of the room.  
>"Doc, what's the bucket for?" I ask curiously.<p>

Doc looks over his shoulder to see what I'm talking about. "Oh," he begins. "After the babies are born, you'll stand over that to pass the afterbirth," he explains. "Then we'll dump it into the sulfur river. I nod. "Ian, I want you to help Wanda sit up, and behind her." Ian nods and helps me up, and sits behind me, leaning me against him. His strong arms wrap around me. Doc removes the towel covering my private parts, exposing me to the world. Jamie and Melanie get on either side of my, and each take one of my legs in their hands. They separate my legs and bring them halfway up to my chest. Doc must have already instructed them on what to do. Ian reaches his bruised hands around me to take my hands in his.

"Don't let me go." I whimper so quietly only Ian could hear.

"I won't." He promises and kisses the top of my head.

Doc takes his place by my spread legs, bringing several towels over with him. "Are you ready?" His eyes were compassionate. Hell yes, I'm ready. I've been waiting for so long for this. Doesn't mean I'm looking forward to it though. I nod. "When I count to three, I want you to push down hard, and hold it. Okay?" Doc locked his eyes with mine, and Ian kissed my head again.

"Ready? One…Two…Three."

"Oh!" I grunt. The pain I felt all over my body makes the last twenty hours look like a walk in the park. I stop to take a breath, and lean back against Ian. I clamp my eyes shut, grit my teeth and push again.

"You're doing great, Wanda! The head is coming, I can see it." I can barely hear Doc's encouragements. The pressure of the baby's head coming out of my body is excruciating.

"Come on, Wanda, push!" I see Melanie's eyes glittering.

I squeeze Ian's hand and push hard again. I hear a loud, shrill sound and realize I'm screaming. I stop pushing to rest and I let go of Ian's aching hands to give them a break. Ian rubs my arms and puts his lips to my ear. "You're doing great, sweetheart." And he kisses my cheek. I take several deep breaths and push with all my might. All of a sudden, I fell a pop between my legs and a bloodcurdling scream escapes my lips.

"Great, Wanda! The head is out!." Doc pats my knee, smiling.

Jamie starts to rub my leg comfortingly. "Wanda, this is the most amazing thing I've ever seen! This is beautiful." I see in his smiling eyes that he truly means it. I'm glad, I was sure this would have disgusted him. A contraction seizes my body . "Push, Wanda, push." Jamie chants.

"Jamie, quick! Put a towel on her chest." Twenty minutes of pushing leaves me exhausted. Jamie lets go of my leg and spreads a towel on my chest. "One more push, Wanda, ,one more! Doc smiles over at me. I breath deeply and push. I feel the baby's tiny body slide out of me. I open my eyes to see Doc catching my baby as it slides out of my body. I hear the angry scream of a newborn child.

"It's a girl!" Doc laughs and lays the baby on my chest. Tears stream from my eyes as I look at my baby daughter. I look up at Ian and see a few tears escape his eyes. I turn my attention back to my daughter. Her plump little body is pink and covered in my blood. She has a thick head of black hair, the spitting image of Ian. Ian takes a corner of the blanket to clean her off.

"She's going to be a heartbreaker, I can tell." He beams down at the baby we've created together. I can tell he's right. Seeing her scream and cry really is breaking my heart.

"Ian, do you want to cut the umbilical cord?" Doc scoots up by my side with the scissors, Clean, Heal and Seal. He passes the scissors to Ian, and shows him where to cut. He severs the long piece of flesh connecting me and my daughter. Doc begins to Clean, Heal and Seal the baby's cord.

My joy is momentarily taken from me as another painful contraction wracks through my body. I pass the baby into Melanie's waiting arms. She wraps her in a clean white towel. "Here comes Baby Number Two. This one should be easier." Doc explains.

And it was. The head came out in only two pushes. And then, I hit a wall; the baby's shoulders were stuck inside me. For half an hour I try to push the shoulders out, to no avail. I'm exhausted. "I can't do it!" I scream.

"Yes you can, Wanda, push!" Doc says.

Ian puts his lips by my ear and whispers, "You can do this, Wanderer. You know you can. You have to push." Though Doc, Melanie, and Jamie were shouting encouragements, I heard none of them. All I heard was my partners gentle whispers in my ear. "Come on, Wanderer. Push it out, you're almost there." I push as hard as I can, and the shoulders rip their way out of my body. Doc sensed my exhaustion and pulls the baby out of me. Another angry cry rings through the tiny room.

"Another girl!" Doc announces and he puts the bloody baby on my chest. I start to cry from joy and exhaustion. Ian cries too. Ian cuts the cord and Doc seals it up. Then he turns to me and gives me the Inside Heal. Miraculously, the Inside Heal shrinks my stomach down to it's original size, from before I got pregnant.

"Wow!" Jamie stares at my stomach with wide eyes.

"We'll leave you guys alone. You'll want to feed them within the hour, Wanda. " Doc says and leaves the room with Mel and Jamie. I wipe the blood off the baby and wrap her in a clean blue towel. I lean forward and kiss her head. She looks just like her sister, only a little bigger. Ian picks up the other baby and we sit back and admire our daughters. Then I feel a large mass drop into my vagina, the afterbirth. I hand the second baby to Ian and crouch over the bucket Doc left.

"Uhm, Ian?" I begin, starting to blush. "Could you throw me a towel, please?" He puts down Baby Number One and tosses me a towel so I can cover myself. Ian laughs at me.

"You know you don't have to do that." He smiles.

"No, I think I do. This is gross." He laughs at me again.

I settle myself on top of the bucket and start pushing the afterbirth out. It's a lot harder and more painful than I thought it would be. Ian looks over and sees me struggling.

"Wanda? Are you okay?" Concern is evident in his face.

"Yeah, it just hurts." I say and push again. I feel the mass move down inside of me. One more push and I feel a sharp pain, making me scream, then relief. It's out. I start crying again. Ian puts down the other baby and rushes to my side.

"What's wrong?" His eyebrows are knitted together.

"It's over! It's all over." I smile and cry at the same time. "I did it!" I did it.

Ian smiles broadly and cups my cheek. "You did it, baby." He leans forward and kisses me on the lips. He takes me by the hand. "C'mon. Let's get you cleaned up." He smiles and leads me to the mattress. I take a dark towel and start wiping between my legs. "Here, let me do it." Ian takes the towel an wipes the blood off of me gently.

When he finishes, Baby Number Two starts to cry. "I think she's hungry." I say, and straighten myself up into a sitting position. Ian helps me out of my shirt and bra so I can feed the babies. I pick up Baby Number Two and lead her to my breast. She latches on immediately. A single tear runs down my cheek as I watch my daughter eat. I look at Ian, and he's staring at Baby Number One in his arms. "Rose." He says.

"Rose O'Shea." I agree.

I look down at the baby suckling at my breast. "Sarah." I say.

"Sarah O'Shea." He agrees.

He hugs me around the shoulders and I lean into his chest. We sit back and watch the two baby girls we just brought into the world. Rose and Sarah. Our daughters.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

My heart is beating out of my chest, sweat glistens my body. Ian pushes the hair from my forehead as I nervously watch Doc rummage through his bag. I watch him pull out bottles of Heal, Inside and Out, No Pain, Clean, Heal, Seal and scissors. He lays each of them on a towel by my legs. Then I see a battered white bucket in the corner of the room.  
>"Doc, what's the bucket for?" I ask curiously.<p>

Doc looks over his shoulder to see what I'm talking about. "Oh," he begins. "After the babies are born, you'll stand over that to pass the afterbirth," he explains. "Then we'll dump it into the sulfur river. I nod. "Ian, I want you to help Wanda sit up, and behind her." Ian nods and helps me up, and sits behind me, leaning me against him. His strong arms wrap around me. Doc removes the towel covering my private parts, exposing me to the world. Jamie and Melanie get on either side of my, and each take one of my legs in their hands. They separate my legs and bring them halfway up to my chest. Doc must have already instructed them on what to do. Ian reaches his bruised hands around me to take my hands in his.

"Don't let me go." I whimper so quietly only Ian could hear.

"I won't." He promises and kisses the top of my head.

Doc takes his place by my spread legs, bringing several towels over with him. "Are you ready?" His eyes were compassionate. Hell yes, I'm ready. I've been waiting for so long for this. Doesn't mean I'm looking forward to it though. I nod. "When I count to three, I want you to push down hard, and hold it. Okay?" Doc locked his eyes with mine, and Ian kissed my head again.

"Ready? One…Two…Three."

"Oh!" I grunt. The pain I felt all over my body makes the last twenty hours look like a walk in the park. I stop to take a breath, and lean back against Ian. I clamp my eyes shut, grit my teeth and push again.

"You're doing great, Wanda! The head is coming, I can see it." I can barely hear Doc's encouragements. The pressure of the baby's head coming out of my body is excruciating.

"Come on, Wanda, push!" I see Melanie's eyes glittering.

I squeeze Ian's hand and push hard again. I hear a loud, shrill sound and realize I'm screaming. I stop pushing to rest and I let go of Ian's aching hands to give them a break. Ian rubs my arms and puts his lips to my ear. "You're doing great, sweetheart." And he kisses my cheek. I take several deep breaths and push with all my might. All of a sudden, I fell a pop between my legs and a bloodcurdling scream escapes my lips.

"Great, Wanda! The head is out!." Doc pats my knee, smiling.

Jamie starts to rub my leg comfortingly. "Wanda, this is the most amazing thing I've ever seen! This is beautiful." I see in his smiling eyes that he truly means it. I'm glad, I was sure this would have disgusted him. A contraction seizes my body . "Push, Wanda, push." Jamie chants.

"Jamie, quick! Put a towel on her chest." Twenty minutes of pushing leaves me exhausted. Jamie lets go of my leg and spreads a towel on my chest. "One more push, Wanda, ,one more! Doc smiles over at me. I breath deeply and push. I feel the baby's tiny body slide out of me. I open my eyes to see Doc catching my baby as it slides out of my body. I hear the angry scream of a newborn child.

"It's a girl!" Doc laughs and lays the baby on my chest. Tears stream from my eyes as I look at my baby daughter. I look up at Ian and see a few tears escape his eyes. I turn my attention back to my daughter. Her plump little body is pink and covered in my blood. She has a thick head of black hair, the spitting image of Ian. Ian takes a corner of the blanket to clean her off.

"She's going to be a heartbreaker, I can tell." He beams down at the baby we've created together. I can tell he's right. Seeing her scream and cry really is breaking my heart.

"Ian, do you want to cut the umbilical cord?" Doc scoots up by my side with the scissors, Clean, Heal and Seal. He passes the scissors to Ian, and shows him where to cut. He severs the long piece of flesh connecting me and my daughter. Doc begins to Clean, Heal and Seal the baby's cord.

My joy is momentarily taken from me as another painful contraction wracks through my body. I pass the baby into Melanie's waiting arms. She wraps her in a clean white towel. "Here comes Baby Number Two. This one should be easier." Doc explains.

And it was. The head came out in only two pushes. And then, I hit a wall; the baby's shoulders were stuck inside me. For half an hour I try to push the shoulders out, to no avail. I'm exhausted. "I can't do it!" I scream.

"Yes you can, Wanda, push!" Doc says.

Ian puts his lips by my ear and whispers, "You can do this, Wanderer. You know you can. You have to push." Though Doc, Melanie, and Jamie were shouting encouragements, I heard none of them. All I heard was my partners gentle whispers in my ear. "Come on, Wanderer. Push it out, you're almost there." I push as hard as I can, and the shoulders rip their way out of my body. Doc sensed my exhaustion and pulls the baby out of me. Another angry cry rings through the tiny room.

"Another girl!" Doc announces and he puts the bloody baby on my chest. I start to cry from joy and exhaustion. Ian cries too. Ian cuts the cord and Doc seals it up. Then he turns to me and gives me the Inside Heal. Miraculously, the Inside Heal shrinks my stomach down to it's original size, from before I got pregnant.

"Wow!" Jamie stares at my stomach with wide eyes.

"We'll leave you guys alone. You'll want to feed them within the hour, Wanda. " Doc says and leaves the room with Mel and Jamie. I wipe the blood off the baby and wrap her in a clean blue towel. I lean forward and kiss her head. She looks just like her sister, only a little bigger. Ian picks up the other baby and we sit back and admire our daughters. Then I feel a large mass drop into my vagina, the afterbirth. I hand the second baby to Ian and crouch over the bucket Doc left.

"Uhm, Ian?" I begin, starting to blush. "Could you throw me a towel, please?" He puts down Baby Number One and tosses me a towel so I can cover myself. Ian laughs at me.

"You know you don't have to do that." He smiles.

"No, I think I do. This is gross." He laughs at me again.

I settle myself on top of the bucket and start pushing the afterbirth out. It's a lot harder and more painful than I thought it would be. Ian looks over and sees me struggling.

"Wanda? Are you okay?" Concern is evident in his face.

"Yeah, it just hurts." I say and push again. I feel the mass move down inside of me. One more push and I feel a sharp pain, making me scream, then relief. It's out. I start crying again. Ian puts down the other baby and rushes to my side.

"What's wrong?" His eyebrows are knitted together.

"It's over! It's all over." I smile and cry at the same time. "I did it!" I did it.

Ian smiles broadly and cups my cheek. "You did it, baby." He leans forward and kisses me on the lips. He takes me by the hand. "C'mon. Let's get you cleaned up." He smiles and leads me to the mattress. I take a dark towel and start wiping between my legs. "Here, let me do it." Ian takes the towel an wipes the blood off of me gently.

When he finishes, Baby Number Two starts to cry. "I think she's hungry." I say, and straighten myself up into a sitting position. Ian helps me out of my shirt and bra so I can feed the babies. I pick up Baby Number Two and lead her to my breast. She latches on immediately. A single tear runs down my cheek as I watch my daughter eat. I look at Ian, and he's staring at Baby Number One in his arms. "Rose." He says.

"Rose O'Shea." I agree.

I look down at the baby suckling at my breast. "Sarah." I say.

"Sarah O'Shea." He agrees.

He hugs me around the shoulders and I lean into his chest. We sit back and watch the two baby girls we just brought into the world. Rose and Sarah. Our daughters.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

The next morning I wake up sore and sleepy. The girls woke up only once during the night to be fed, but their birth wore me out both mentally and physically. After they're fed, there's a knock at the door. It's Doc. "Are you guys ready for visitors? Everyone wants to meet the babies."

"Sure Doc."

The door is moved out of the way, and Kyle, Sunny, Jamie, Mel, and Jared come into our room. It's crowded with so many people in the small room, but we don't mind. We're all one family now. Mel and Jamie lean down to hug me, and Jared kisses my cheek. Sunny comes to my side and starts to stroke the babies' long black hair.

"Congratulations, bro." Kyle shakes Ian's hand, then wraps him in a hug. Kyle then kneels down to me. "You're an O'Shea now. Welcome to the family, little sister." I never thought I'd hear those words come from Kyle's mouth. I'm so touched, my eyes grow moist. "Now," he turns to the babies. "Let me see my little nieces!" He holds his arms out for a baby, and I place Sarah gently in them. Then I turn to Sunny and hand her Rose.

"What'd you name them?" Jamie asked.

I smile at my little brother. Kyle is holding Sarah, and Sunny is holding Rose. Rose is the oldest."

Sunny smiles down at Rose. They're beautiful, Wanda." I can only smile.

The babies are passed around so everyone gets to hold each girl. I could have sworn I saw Jared choke up a bit when Sarah started making her sweet baby noises. I pretended not to notice, since no one else seemed too.

When everyone in the caves has held the babies, Ian and I are exhausted. I fed the babies then laid down beside Ian. He wraps his arm around me, holding me in one arm and Rose in the other. Sarah rests in the crook of my arm. Ian kisses me goodnight and falls asleep almost immediately. I lie away for a while, looking down at my family. My beautiful partner, and our two precious identical daughters, who look just like Ian.

My family.


End file.
